Cherry Health Benefits, Risks and Tips

A member of the plant family that includes plums, apricots, peaches, and nectarines, cherries are generally lower in vitamins and minerals than their larger cousins. Still, recent research suggests that the small fruit can impart important health benefits. Both sweet and sour cherries are a source of beta-carotene, vitamin C, and potassium, but sour cherries are much higher in beta-carotene.

 The flavor and low calorie content of the cherry varieties make them an ideal snack or dessert during the short time they are in season. Sour cherries, which are more nutritious than the sweet types, are used mostly for making jams and other preserves, or they are baked into pies and other pastries.

Health Benefits 

Fights inflammation.
Both sweet and sour cherries are rich in beta-carotene, a heart-healthy compound, and vitamin C, an antioxidant that fights free radical activity. One study showed that adults who ate 1 ½ cups of tart cherries had increased levels of antioxidants in their bodies, specifically anthocyanins, which help prevent heart disease and other inflammatory conditions.

May prevent cancer.
Sour cherries are an abundant source of quercetin, a flavonoid with anticarcinogenic and antioxidant activities. Evens blood cholesterol levels. Cherries are a good source of pectin, a soluble fiber that helps control blood cholesterol.

Treats gout.
Alternative health practitioners often advocate sour cherries to treat gout. Research suggests that a substance in cherries called cyanidin has anti-inflammatory properties, an attribute that might help reduce the swelling and pain of gout.

Eases arthritis pain.
Limited research also shows that sour cherries have the potential to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis.

Health Risks 

Allergic reactions.
People who are allergic to apricots and other members of the plum family may also suffer a reaction to cherries. The most likely symptoms are hives and a tingling or itching sensation in or around the mouth.

Eating Tips
• Add quartered sweet cherries to pancakes.
• Scatter sweet cherries over skinless chicken thighs before roasting.
• Make a sauce with cherries and pomegranate juice thickened with arrowroot.

Buying Tips
• Look for plump, firm fruit with green stems.
• Imported cherries are not as flavorful as the local fruit that is picked and marketed at the height of its ripeness.

 Storing Tips
• Keep cherries unwashed, with the stems attached, in an open bag or container in the refrigerator.
• Cherries spoil quickly, so eat them as soon as possible.

CHERRY FACTS

• The most popular sweet cherries in North America are Bing and other dark-colored varieties, and Lamberts, which are a bright crimson. Queen Annes are yellow with tinges of red, large, and very sweet.

• Commercial maraschino cherries are made by bleaching the fruit (usually the yellow Queen Anne variety) in a sulfur dioxide brine, then toughening it with lime or calcium salt. The cherries are then dyed bright red, sweetened, flavored, and packed in jars.